Written Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Leader of the House whether she plans to facilitate the accountability of regional ministers through written parliamentary questions.

Helen Goodman: The accountability of regional ministers is one of the issues which it will be open to the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons to consider as part of the inquiry it has announced that it intends to undertake into regional accountability.

Legal Opinion: Armed Conflict

Graham Allen: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will take steps to make independent legal advice available to the House and to hon. Members on the legality of  (a) war-making and  (b) voting on war-making.

Nick Harvey: The Commission has no plans to do so. Individual Members are free to draw on any advice they receive. Select committees may choose to take evidence and report to the House.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of employees in  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age.

Paul Goggins: The following table details the number of employees and the percentage this represents in  (a) the Northern Ireland Office and  (b) each (i) executive agency who are above state retirement age. Information in relation to (ii) non-departmental public bodies is not available.
	
		
			  Business area  Number of employees aged over 60  Total number of employees  Percentage 
			 NIO CORE 18 676 2.7 
			 Forensic Science NI 4 176 2 
			 Compensation Agency 0 77 0 
			 Youth Justice Agency 1 72 1 
			 Public Prosecution Service 6 558 1 
			 Crown Solicitors Office 2 81 2 
			 NI Prison Service 24 441 5 
			 Staff on Secondment 0 35 0 
			 Total 55 2,188 2.5

Afghanistan

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress made by the armed forces in Helmand province over the last three months.

Des Browne: The UK armed forces in Helmand continue to defeat the Taliban tactically while supporting FCO and DfID programmes to improve governance and provide reconstruction. They continue to provide mentoring and assist in the development of the Afghan security forces as part of our long term goal to ensure the Afghans can take responsibility for their own security.

Drug Seizures

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the volume and value has been of drugs seized by British naval vessels involved in drug operations in 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Navy has seized just over 1 tonne of illegal narcotics during 2007, with an estimated UK street value of £49 million. The Royal Navy's presence in the Caribbean and elsewhere provides an important contribution to UK counter narcotics activity under the leadership of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Amphibious Vehicles: Devonport

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what consideration his Department has given to basing the four Bay class landing ship dock (auxiliaries) alongside the Royal Navy's other amphibious vessels at Devonport;
	(2)  what consideration his Department has given to the merits of basing the Antarctic survey ship HMS Endurance with the remainder of the hydrographic surveying squadron at Devonport.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answers 18 October 2007
	The Naval Base Review concluded that all three naval bases (Clyde, Devonport and Portsmouth) should be retained but optimised. The process of exploring the options for optimising the way the three naval bases individually and collectively provide support to the front line is under way. This work includes an assessment of the impact on the base porting of ships and submarines, and is expected to conclude in the coming months, with the aim of delivering the most effective support to the front line in the future.

Armed Forces: Discharges

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what main reasons are cited by service personnel for leaving the armed forces.

Derek Twigg: The main reasons that service personnel give for leaving the Armed Forces are: the impact of service life on their personal and domestic lives; a lack of job satisfaction; and a change of career or future job opportunities outside the services.

Armed Forces: Health Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to contribute his Department's funds towards the  (a) capital cost and  (b) revenue expenditure of civilian hospitals and other civilian health service facilities and services provided by the national health service and used extensively by members of HM armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: In England, the Department of Health provides funding to primary care trusts (PCTs) to meet their responsibilities. Revenue allocations are made to PCTs on the basis of the relative needs of their populations, to enable them to commission similar levels of health services for populations in similar need. With regard to the armed forces, service personnel are included in the secondary care elements of PCT revenue allocations and excluded from the primary care elements, as the latter services are provided by the Defence Medical Services.
	Funding allocations to particular NHS trusts are based on information from the Office for National Statistics, which are used to determine the demographic (and hence health care) needs of each area. The devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have similar arrangements for the allocation of funds for health care from their overall budgets.
	The MOD pays the NHS for accelerated access to treatment for its personnel when this is required for operational reasons, under agreements between the MOD and individual NHS trusts. MOD also has specific arrangements with those NHS trusts that host Ministry of Defence Hospital Units, where military doctors and nurses work alongside NHS colleagues to gain clinical training and experience (to enable them to deliver a high standard of medical care on military deployments). The NHS as well as the MOD benefits from these placements, the costs of which are recovered by MOD in respect of the work undertaken for the NHS that is contractually guaranteed to the trust concerned. Where MOD requires any special facilities to be provided by an NHS trust for specifically military purposes, whether for military medical training and administration or for the care of military patients, the costs of such provision will again be recovered by the NHS trust concerned.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the extra planned funding for Combat Stress will be provided.

Derek Twigg: The extra funding takes the form of increased daily fee rates paid in respect of individual qualifying war pensioners who receive treatment at one of the Combat Stress homes. These payments are made using the power in the war pensions scheme(1) to pay expenses, in respect of the medical, surgical or rehabilitative treatment of a former member of the armed forces, which are the result of disablement due to service before 6 April 2005. In Scotland, costs are met by the Scottish Health Service.
	(1)Article 21 of The Naval, Military and Air Forces Etc. (Disablement and Death) Service Pensions Order 2006

Bombs

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the self-destruct failure rate of the M85 dual purpose bomblet.

Bob Ainsworth: All munitions undergo rigorous and comprehensive testing prior to entering service and are subject to regular in-service trials once they become part of the UK stockpile. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my predecessor gave on 20 April 2007,  Official Report, column 800W, to the right hon. Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith).

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which private consultancy firms  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies which report to his Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement.

Derek Twigg: The information is not held in the format requested centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	However, I am able to provide the MOD's expenditure on private consultancy companies for the last two financial years and I have made these available in the Library of the House. The expenditure figures for financial year 2005-06 do not include expenditure on manpower substitution and the figures for financial year 2006-07 exclude both manpower substitution and technical consultancy.
	Details of the MOD's expenditure on external assistance since 1995-96 are available in the Library of the House.
	Information on organisations, including consultancy firms, paid £5 million or more by the Department in each financial year is published in the UK Defence Statistics. Copies of this are also available in the House Library.

Departments: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were employed by his Department on 1st January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Derek Twigg: Information on how many civilian staff were employed by the Department on 1 January 2003 to 2007, broken down by permanent employees and temporary staff is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   Permanent  Temporary  Total 
			  1 January 2003
			 Level 1(1) Excluding RFA 79,340 1,520 80,860 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) n/a n/a 2,450 
			 Level 1(1) n/a n/a 83,300 
			 Locally engaged civilians (LECs) n/a n/a 14,020 
			 Trading fund personnel 12,180 130 12,310 
			 Level 0(2) n/a n/a 109,630 
			 
			  1 January 2004
			 Level 1(1) Excluding RFA 80,140 340 80,480 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) n/a n/a 2,340 
			 Level 1(1) n/a n/a 82,820 
			 Locally engaged civilians (LECs) n/a n/a 14,760 
			 Trading fund personnel 11,490 190 11,680 
			 Level 0(2) n/a n/a 109,260 
			 
			  1 January 2005
			 Level 1(1) Excluding RFA 80,470 1,260 81,730 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) n/a n/a 2,340 
			 Level 1(1) n/a n/a 84,070 
			 Locally engaged civilians (LECs) n/a n/a 15,130 
			 Trading fund personnel 11,240 90 11,330 
			 Level 0(2) n/a n/a 110,530 
			 
			  1 January 2006
			 Level 1(1) Excluding RFA 77,490 1,180 78,680 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) n/a n/a 2,350 
			 Level 1(1) n/a n/a 81,030 
			 Locally engaged civilians (LECs) n/a n/a 16,150 
			 Trading fund personnel 10,970 150 11,120 
			 Level 0(2) n/a n/a 108,300 
			  1 January 2007
			 Level 1(1) Excluding RFA 73,780 1,060 74,850 
			 Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) n/a n/a 2,370 
			 Level 1(1) n/a n/a 77,210 
			 Locally engaged civilians (LECs) n/a n/a 15,280 
			 Trading fund personnel 10,390 160 10,550 
			 Level 0(2) n/a n/a 103,040 
			 n/a = not available as data for RFAs and LECs cannot be split by permanent employees and temporary staff subsets. (1) Level 1 is defined as all departmental staff including RFAs but excluding LECs and trading fund personnel (2) Level 0 is defined as all departmental staff at Level 1 plus LECs and trading fund personnel.  Note: Information on contractors is not held centrally on the Department's Human Resource Management System (HRMS).  Source: DASA(Quad Service)

Departments: Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest version of  (a) his Department's Corporate Planning Assumptions,  (b) the Defence Programme Directory and  (c) the Defence Strategic Guidance.

Bob Ainsworth: The key elements of the Defence Planning Assumptions can be found in the second Supporting Essay to the 2003 Defence White Paper, 'Delivering Security in a Changing World' (Cm 6041-1) and the annex to 'Delivering Security in a Changing World—Future Capabilities' (Cm 6269) published in July 2004. Since these papers were published only minor amendments have been made to the assumptions on Strategic Effects.
	The planned force structure derived from the Defence Programme Directory can also be found in the 2004 Command Paper 'Delivering Security in a Changing World—Future Capabilities' (Cm 6269). Since this paper was published there have been no changes to the planned force structure although there have been minor changes to some platform numbers. The complete Defence Programme Directory contains readiness profiles which are classified and for security reasons cannot be placed in the Library.
	Defence Strategic Guidance provides guidance to the Department on how Defence policy should be delivered and includes the complete set of defence planning assumptions. I am withholding the guidance as its release would, or would be likely to prejudice the defence of the British Isles and the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

Military Aid: Belize

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost has been of the assistance provided by the British Army Training and Support Unit to the manatee conservation project in Belize; and what type of helicopter was used by the Army Air Corps to assist the project.

Derek Twigg: On 26 and 28 March 2007 British Army Training Support Unit Belize provided assistance to the Wildlife Trust's Manatee Conservation Project, in locating, examining and tagging Manatees. Two helicopters were involved, a hired Bell 212 operated by 25 Flight Army Air Corps and a RAF Puma. The extra cost of this activity to the Ministry of Defence was £1,765, covering the hire of the Bell 212 for approximately two and a half hours. All armed forces personnel and equipment involved were already in Belize for training purposes.

Territorial Army: Armed Forces Training

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Combat Fitness Test is undertaken at the start of the Potential Junior NCOs course for Territorial Army personnel.

Bob Ainsworth: The combat fitness test (CFT) forms part of the mandatory military annual training test (MATT) for all members of the Army, including the Territorial Army. Active serving members of the Territorial Army are normally required to take this test annually in order to qualify for their training bounty, unless undertaking a staff posting.
	There is no centrally mandated requirement for members of the TA to pass the CFT at the start of Potential Junior NCO courses; the syllabuses for which are tailored by each of the Corps to meet their individual needs. In practice, however, it is usual either for the CFT to be included at some point during such a course or for participants to demonstrate the required MATT standard before the course begins.

Territorial Army: Manpower

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) outflow and  (b) inflow of the Territorial Army was in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: It is not possible to provide information on outflow and inflow for the Territorial Army by geographic region, as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The following table shows the total intake and outflow for territorial personnel during the period 1 October 2003 to 28 February 2007. October 2003 is the earliest date for which reliable TA inflow and outflow data is available.
	
		
			  Inflow and outflow of the Territorial Army by calendar year( 1,2,3,4) 
			  Calendar year  Inflow( 5)  Outflow( 6) 
			 2003 (1 October—31 December) 3,360 2,370 
			 2004 7,690 9,410 
			 2005 8,650 8,240 
			 2006 8,560 9,920 
			 2007 (1 January—28 February)(7) 1,020 1,700 
			 (1) The data exclude Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS) and Mobilised TA but includes the Officer Training Corps (OTC). (2) The data are based on flows during the period 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2003, calendar years 2004, 2005 and 2006, and the period 1 January 2007 to 28 February 2007. (3) The data have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in '5' have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid systematic bias. (4) Figures are for both Officers and Soldiers. (5) Inflow figures include all inflow e.g. intake from civil life and intake from other parts of the armed forces, but does not include the inflow of personnel returning from mobilisation. (6) Outflow figures exclude those personnel who became mobilised. (7) Due to ongoing data validation following the introduction of the new Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) System, there is no TA information available since 1 March 2007.

Bicycles: Helmets

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will bring forward proposals to make it mandatory for children under 14 to wear a helmet when cycling on a public highway.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have no proposals to bring forward legislation on compulsory cycle helmet wearing. We believe that it is sensible for cyclists, especially children, to protect themselves by wearing a cycle helmet. A 2002 review commissioned by the DfT concluded that, overall there is evidence that bicycle helmets can be effective at reducing the incidence and severity of head, brain and upper facial injuries and that they can be effective in reducing injury for users of all ages, particularly for children. However, the report also concluded that, making cycle helmet wearing compulsory may in some cases discourage some people from cycling, leading to decreased bicycle use. We will shortly be commissioning further research on a range of cycle safety issues, including the use of cycle helmets.
	Our regular surveys of helmet wearing rates show that cycle helmets were worn by 28 per cent. of all cyclists on major roads in built up areas in 2004; this compares to 16 per cent. in 1994. The corresponding figures for child cyclists are 14 per cent. in 2004 compared to 18 per cent. in 1994. The wearing rate for teenage boys has decreased from 16 per cent. to 11 per cent. The 2006 helmet wearing rate survey will be published later this year.
	While compulsion remains an option that we will review from time to time, it has been our view that, at current helmet wearing rates, making helmets compulsory would cause enforcement difficulties and without greater public acceptance could have an effect on levels of cycling. Meanwhile, we will continue to encourage all cyclists to wear helmets, through our road safety publicity campaigns and advice in publications such as The Highway Code.

Bus Services: Technology

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the costs of equipping all buses in England with smartcard readers.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 18 October 2007
	We have, from time to time, produced rough estimates of the cost of equipping buses with smartcard readers. However, producing an accurate estimate for all buses in the England is extremely difficult. It depends on a number of factors, such as the number of buses operating scheduled services in England, the number that are already equipped with readers, assumption on back office costs, including the number and ownership of these offices, the type and cost of readers available at any particular time, and the number of readers per bus, for example if passengers are both swiping cards on boarding and on alighting then two readers may be needed. We currently have no plans to require buses in England to be equipped with smart readers.

Railways

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new rail vehicles for  (a) inter-city services,  (b) commuter services in London and  (c) local regional rail services were procured in each of the last 10 years.

Tom Harris: holding answer 18 October 2007
	The number of vehicles procured for  (a) is around 1,200 vehicles,  (b) around 3,400 vehicles,  (c) around 600 vehicles.

Shipping: Registration

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on the decision to allow the Morning Miracle to transfer to the UK Shipping Register; and what assessment was made of her fire fighting capabilities.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The car carrier MORNING MIRACLE met all the safety and other quality criteria for acceptance on to the UK Ship Register. The fire-fighting arrangements were accepted following a detailed risk assessment by Det Norske Veritas, one of our recognised classification societies. The arrangements fully meet international requirements and the MCA is satisfied that the ship is operating safely.

Revenue and Customs: Official Hospitality

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent from the public purse on staff parties at HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last three years.

Jane Kennedy: There has been no expenditure from the public purse on staff parties during the last three years.
	Guidance on the regularity and propriety of expenditure is given in the HM Treasury publication 'Managing Public Money' (available on the HM Treasury website). This guidance has been interpreted to form departmental policy. The policy adopted is that it is inappropriate to use official funds to pay for staff parties, the cost of any parties are met by staff themselves.

Taxation: Business

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs under the settlements legislation were stopped as a result of the House of Lords judgment in the Jones v Garnett case.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is not available.

Unemployment: Reading

Robert Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the 18 to 24 year old population of Reading East constituency was not in education, training or employment in each quarter since the second quarter of 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Mike Hughes, dated 22 October 2007 :
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about young people not in education, training or employment. I am replying in her absence. (159528)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. Quarterly data are not available for parliamentary constituencies.
	The table attached, shows the numbers of 18 to 24 year olds not in full-time education, employment or training, resident in Reading East constituency for the 12 month periods ending in February for 2002 to 2004 from the local area LFS and for the 12 month periods ending in March for 2005 to 2007, from the APS. The table also shows these numbers as the percentage of all 18 to 24 year olds in the area for each year.
	Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Persons aged 18 to 24 who are not in full-time education, employment or training resident in the Reading East constituency 
			  12 months ending  Number (Thousand )  Percentage of all 18-24 year olds 
			 February 2002 1 12 
			 February 2003 1 13 
			 February 2004 1 12 
			 March 2005 2 13 
			 March 2006 1 10 
			 March 2007 1 14 
			  Note: Estimates are subject to sampling variability.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey.

Arts Council of England: Finance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) grant-in-aid and  (b) National Lottery funding was allocated to the Arts Council England (ACE) in each of the last five years; and how much ACE awarded to brass bands in the same period.

Margaret Hodge: This information is shown in the table:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Grant in  a id (revenue)  National Lottery  Awards made by ACE to brass bands( 1) 
			 2002-03 289,000 178,000 217 
			 2003-04 325,000 161,000 209 
			 2004-05 368,000 169,000 200 
			 2005-06 412,000 171,000 219 
			 2006-07 412,000 157,000 367 
			 (1 )Figures include both Grant in Aid and National Lottery funding.

Culture: England

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will take steps to promote English folk dance and song; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: Government support for English folk dance and song is primarily channelled through Arts Council England, which funds a number of organisations who promote and develop these art forms.
	Levels of financial support for music and dance through Arts Council England are at their highest ever, with the music sector receiving over £100 million and the dance sector over £34 million during 2006-07. This funding includes support for folk dance and song.
	Overall arts funding has increased in real terms by 73 per cent. since 1998 and in 2007-08, Arts Council England will receive £412 million.
	The Arts Council will receive an above-inflation increase over the next three-year spending review period. This means an extra £12 million in 2008-09, £26.5 million in 2009-10 and in £50 million in 2010-11. This is a real year-on-year increase of 1.1 per cent. and will enable the arts to continue to thrive and grow.

Floods: Sportsgrounds

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate has been made of the cost of repairing flood damaged  (a) cricket pitches and  (b) other sports facilities; and what funding is available to help affected clubs.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 15 October 2007
	National Sports Foundation funding may support repairs to flood damaged sports facilities. It is managed by Sport England and will take into account all proceeds from insurance cover. To date 2 applications of this nature have been received. In addition, Sport England's Yorkshire and West Midlands regions are providing advice and guidance to support sports provision provided by clubs and others affected by the floods. A full picture of the estimated costs of repairing flood damaged sports facilities, including cricket pitches, has not been collected centrally.

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Edward Miliband: The Cabinet Office publishes guidance for Departments on 'Handling Correspondence from Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, MEPs, and Members of Devolved Assemblies'. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House and it is also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/correspondence.pdf
	The Cabinet Office also publishes on an annual basis, a report on Departments' and agencies performance on handling Members and Peers correspondence. This includes the target set by each Department to reply to hon. Members, the number of letters received and the percentage of replies within target. The last report for 2006 was published by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 101-04WS.

EU Reform: Treaties

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Czech counterpart on the proposed EU Reform Treaty.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is in frequent contact with all his EU counterparts, including the Czech Foreign Minister on a wide range of issues including the proposed EU Reform Treaty.

Foreigners: Honours

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether foreign citizens who are made honorary knights or dames are entitled to use the titles associated with those honours used by British recipients.

Jim Murphy: The bestowal of an honorary award at Class I or II level does not confer the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' on the holder. The appropriate post-nominal letters, e.g. 'Knight of the British Empire', 'Dame of the British Empire', may however be used, subject to the rules laid down by the authorities of the recipient's country. It is for the recipients to inform themselves of the rules.

House of Europe

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on the establishment of a House of Europe in London; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: There have been no discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the European Commission regarding the establishment of a House of Europe in London.
	The European Commission and the European Parliament currently have separate office premises in London. The leases on both buildings are set to end within 12-18 months. The Commission and Parliament are currently considering whether to move into a suitable building together.
	The practice of sharing office premises exists in most member states.

Iraq: Armed Forces

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 255W, on Iraq: armed forces, what changes were made to plans agreed before the invasion as a consequence of the flexibility to take full account of developments on the ground; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The details of planning remain confidential. Planning was reviewed on a regular basis and adapted in light of developments on the ground in Iraq and taking into account the views of the Iraqi people who had suffered under Saddam Hussein's regime for 35 years.
	I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 255W.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Mr. Blair as Middle East Envoy on  (a) Libya's approach to the Arab League's initiative on peace in the Middle East and  (b) Mr. Blair's last visit to Libya in 2007.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary has had discussions with the right hon. Tony Blair about the Middle East Peace Process, including the Arab Peace Initiative. However, the meeting did not touch on Libya's approach to the Arab Peace Initiative or the right hon. Tony Blair's visit to Libya in May 2007.

Council Housing

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she is taking to encourage the introduction of choice-based lettings in  (a) council housing and  (b) housing association stock.

Iain Wright: "Sustainable Communities: Homes for All", published in January 2005, set out the Government's Choice Based Lettings (CBL) strategy: to build on the existing target—for all local authorities to have adopted CBL by 2010—by extending choice based lettings to cover, not only local authority and RSL properties, but also shared ownership, low cost home ownership, and properties to rent from private landlords. It also encourages the development of CBL schemes on a regional and/or sub-regional basis, recognising that housing markets do not always follow local authority boundaries.
	We are making available £4 million over three years (2005-08) to fund new sub-regional and regional CBL schemes. Local authorities were invited to submit bids for the third and final round of funding by 12 October 2007 and the response rate has been most encouraging. We will be announcing the results before the end of the year.
	To date we have funded the development of 26 sub-regional schemes and one scheme which covers all London authorities. The pan-London Choice and Mobility Scheme ("Capital Moves") is due to go live at the beginning of 2009.

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which  (a) mortgage lenders and  (b) solicitors she has been informed do not accept personal searches included in a home information pack.

Yvette Cooper: Personal searches formed around 40 per cent. of the market in advance of the introduction of HIPS. HIPs can include personal searches or local authority searches.
	Based on the 1 June 2007 version of the Council of Mortgage Lender's Handbook we understand that 27 of the top 30 lenders accept personal searches. HSBC is the only lender that has publicly stated that it does not and never has accepted personal searches.
	We have not been informed about particular solicitors decisions on searches.

Home Information Packs: Pilot Schemes

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in which locations home information pack dry-runs or pilots were conducted.

Yvette Cooper: The dry-run was run on a national basis.
	During the area trials home information packs were offered for voluntary take-up within the following towns and cities:
	Bath
	Cambridge
	Huddersfield
	Southampton
	Newcastle
	Northampton
	Southwark (London Bough of Southwark)
	North West Wales (Conwy, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd)

Home information Packs: Valuation Office

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what submissions or representations the Valuation Office Agency has made to her Department and its predecessor in relation to  (a) home information packs and  (b) energy performance certificates in the last 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: The Valuation Office has made no such representations in the last 12 months.

Housing: Armed Forces

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will provide additional finance to local authorities with military bases in their area to enable them to offer social housing to members of HM Armed Forces when they leave the services; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Funding for social housing is distributed regionally using a needs based formula which takes account of all those in need of affordable housing, including, where appropriate, members of HM armed forces. The Regional Assemblies advise on funding priorities within their areas and, subject to value for money considerations and compatibility with national priorities, these factors inform the social housing delivered through the National Affordable Housing Programme which is run by the Housing Corporation, taking account of the needs of all those eligible.

Housing: Inspections

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what manner the Criminal Records Bureau checks for accredited home inspectors differ from those for accredited domestic energy inspectors; and for what reasons.

Yvette Cooper: The Government consulted and agreed the level of criminal checks for energy assessors with the police. These checks are as strong or stronger than other professions who enter the home like gas inspectors and utility representatives.
	The basic check is used for domestic energy assessors and the standard check is used for home inspectors. This is consistent with or better than that required in comparable occupations: there must be a reasonable relationship between the checks made and the level of risk based on the access a person is expected to be given.

Local Authorities: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance  (a) her Department and its predecessor and  (b) the Standards Board of England have provided to local authorities and their members on whether donations to political parties by developers should be declared as an interest by those councillors of that political party when they consider planning or licensing applications connected to that developer.

John Healey: Neither the Department nor the Standards Board have issued guidance to local authorities or their members of the sort referred to.

Agriculture: Land Use

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much agricultural land in England, in hectares, was given for best and most versatile status in  (a) 1997 or the nearest year available and  (b) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jonathan R Shaw: There is no national programme to collect statistics on the amount of Best and Most Versatile agricultural land (designated as grades 1, 2 and 3A under DEFRA's Agricultural Land Classifications system) land in England. According to the most recent estimates, made in 1993-94, there were 4.8 million hectares of such land in England.

Departments: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which private consultancy firms  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies which report to his Department engaged in each of the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and what the approximate cost to the Department or agency concerned was of each engagement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department does not hold a central list of every private consultancy firm engaged by the core-Department and its executive agencies over the last three years; which programmes or projects each firm worked on; and the cost of each engagement. Such a list could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department came into being in July 2001. From information held centrally, the core-Department's expenditure on consultancy and professional services over the financial years 2002-03 to 2006-07 is as per the following table:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Professional services  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 IT and Telecommunication 45,431,803 52,805,769 99,254,525 130,937,698 162,829,742 
			 Management and Business Consultancy 15,317,092 20,260,714 78,671,992 44,136,007 29,344,628 
			 Programme and Project Management 20,579,670 23,118,978 24,323,086 18,192,186 4,407,693 
			 Research and Development 9,032,254 9,751,623 18,113,871 20,190,046 33,450,349 
			 Specialist Consultancy 39,942,837 39,828,357 36,312,208 36,646,432 53,732,059 
			 Temp Staff 10,536,838 9,383,419 9,623,459 9,890,898 6,665,696 
			 Grand total 140,840,492 155,148,860 266,299,141 259,993,267 290,430,167 
		
	
	The reduction in expenditure for programme and project management between 2005-06 and 2006-07 is the result of re-classifying some £14 million into the specialist consultancy expenditure category. This will be the subject of an explanatory note in the DEFRA Departmental Report for 2008.

Fish

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 40 tonnes of Area VII anglerfish swapped away from the under 10 metres pool has been swapped for.

Jonathan R Shaw: The 40 tonnes of VII anglerfish was the 2007 element of a cross-year swap that Fisheries Administrations undertook in 2006 with the South Western Fish Producers' Organisation (FPO). It gained 40 tonnes of Channel plaice quota for the 10 metre and under fleet, ensuring that the inshore fishery was not closed prematurely as a result of heavy landings. Annual uptake of anglerfish during previous years had suggested that the 10 metre and under pool allocation would not be taken in full during 2007. In 2007, the Marine and Fisheries Agency have acquired some 33 tonnes of additional VII anglerfish quota for the 10 metre and under pool allocation.

Paedophilia

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what measures were in place before 2005 to prevent known paedophiles from opening a children's agency specialising in theatre, television and modelling; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 July,  Official Report, columns 1191W and 1192W. Under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 it is an offence to knowingly offer work to or to employ a person in a child care position if they are disqualified from working with children either by virtue of being included on one of the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Lists (the Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List or its equivalent in Scotland or List 99) or a disqualification order from the court. Individuals who apply or offer to work, accept work or continue to work with children in such positions will be committing a criminal offence and can face prosecution if they are disqualified from working with children.
	The extent to which those running a children's agency specialising in theatre, television and modelling would be covered by the PoCA regulations would depend on the nature of their actual work. However, if a person is deemed to be caring for children under 16 in the course of the children's work they would be in a regulated position and therefore covered by PoCA. Those running children's agencies would therefore normally be covered.
	Employment agencies are required to meet the provisions under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and associated Conduct Regulations.
	Since 1995, the Employment Agencies Act 1973 has provided that the former DTI, now BERR, can apply to an employment tribunal for a prohibition order to ban persons found to be unsuitable for misconduct or any other satisfactory reason from running or being concerned with the running of an employment agency.

Children: Disadvantaged

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects  (a) to roll out the new nurse-family partnerships and  (b) to allocate the £670 million two year provision which he announced in his recent speech in Bournemouth; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Government continue to trial the family nurse partnerships in England and an increasing number of families are being enrolled in to the pilot programmes. The next stage of the current pilots is being considered in the context of the recently announced spending review settlements. Further announcements will be made before the end of the year,
	'Aiming High for Young People: A Ten Year Strategy for Positive Activities' was launched on 26 July 2007. The strategy and accompanying press release detailed the outcome of the comprehensive spending review (CSR) in relation to services for young people which over the three year CSR period, 2008-09 to 2010-11 will provide an additional £184 million alongside continuing funding of 3495 million—a total of £679 million. This will support a range of initiatives and will be allocated to a variety of delivery agents in a number of different ways ahead of the start of the next financial year. Details of local authorities' share of these additional resources will be announced as part of the Local Government finance settlement in the autumn.

Class Sizes: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the pupil-teacher ratio was in each local education authority in the East of England at key stage  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The requested information is not available. The following table provides the pupil:teacher ratios within maintained primary and secondary schools in local authority areas within the East of England, January 1997 to 2007.
	
		
			  Pupil:Teacher ratios( 1)  in maintained schools( 2)  by local authority area in east of England 
			   1907  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Primary( 3)
			 England 23.4 23.7 23.5 23.3 22.9 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.5 22.0 21.8 
			 East of England 23.0 23.3 23.3 23.1 22.8 22.7 22.8 22.9 22.7 22.2 22.1 
			 
			 Former Bedfordshire 23.3 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire — 23.8 23.8 23.5 22.9 22.3 22.6 22.8 23.0 22.2 22.1 
			 Luton — 22.7 22 6 22.3 22.9 22.7 23.5 23.5 23.4 23.6 22.8 
			 Former Cambridgeshire 24.4 24.9 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — 25.0 24.6 24.1 23.3 23.7 23.6 23.6 22.9 22.2 
			 Peterborough — — 24.2 23.2 23.0 22.9 23.1 23.2 22.5 21.9 21.8 
			 Former Essex 23.0 23.5 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex — — 23.5 23.2 22.9 22.8 23.0 23.2 22.9 22.5 22.4 
			 Southend-on-Sea — — 24.0 23.4 23.5 23.0 23.3 22.8 23.0 22.2 22.1 
			 Thurrock — — 23.9 22.8 22.8 21.8 23.6 24.9 25.0 23.3 22.8 
			 Hertfordshire 22.9 23.0 23.0 23.2 23.0 22.8 23.0 23.0 22.5 22.4 23.2 
			 Norfolk 22.3 22.5 22.7 22.7 22.1 23.0 21.7 22.3 22.1 21.3 21.1 
			 Suffolk 22.3 22.2 22.0 22.1 22.0 21.5 21.7 21.7 21.5 21.1 20.7 
			 
			  Secondary( 3)
			 England 16.77 16.9 17.0 17.2 17.1 16.9 17.0 17.0 16.7 16.6 16.5 
			 East of England 16.6 16.7 16.9 17.2 17.4 17.5 17.5 17.7 17.5 17.3 17.2 
			 
			 Bedfordshire 17.8 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire — 18.3 18.5 18.7 18.8 18.4 18.7 18.4 18.7 18.3 18.0 
			 Luton — 16.7 16.9 17.3 17.9 18.0 17.9 17.7 18.5 17.8 18.6 
			 Former Cambridgeshire 17.4 17.5 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — 18.1 18.7 18.7 18.1 18.2 18.7 18.3 18.2 18.3 
			 Peterborough — — 16.7 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.0 16.9 16.5 16.5 
			 Former Essex 16.6 16.7 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex — — 16.8 17.2 17.5 17.5 17.6 18.0 17.4 17.3 17.3 
			 Southend-on-Sea — — 16.4 16.9 16.8 17.2 17.3 17.7 17.9 18.2 18.2 
			 Thurrock — — 18.0 18.5 18.9 19.8 19.8 20.8 19.9 18.7 19.0 
			 Hertfordshire 15.9 16.1 16.3 16.6 16.7 16.8 17.0 17.1 16.8 16.7 16.4 
			 Norfolk 15.7 16.1 16.2 16.6 16.9 17.5 17.1 17.3 17.6 17.0 17.2 
			 Suffolk 16.6 16.5 16.6 16.9 17.1 16.9 16.9 17.2 17.0 17.2 17.0 
			 (1) The PTRs for each of LA maintained primary and secondary schools relate FTE pupil numbers in these schools to FTE qualified teacher numbers in these schools, from the School Census. The School Census includes teachers normally employed, within schools, in the survey week, (2) Excludes CTCs and academies. (3) Includes middle schools as deemed.  Source: School Census

Curriculum: Citizenship

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions he has had with  (a) the Secretary of State for Scotland and  (b) his counterpart in the Scottish Executive on delivery of a UK-wide (i) curriculum for citizenship education and (ii) Who do we think we are? week in schools.

Jim Knight: DCSF Ministers meet regularly with Scottish counterparts to discuss a range of issues. There have been discussions at official level about the Citizenship curriculum. Plans for the "Who do we think we are?" week are in their initial stages.

Departments: Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many citizens' juries have been arranged by his Department since June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the estimated cost is of each exercise.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families has conducted five citizen's juries since June 2007. Opinion Leader Research were appointed to facilitate the events which took the form of deliberative debates. The cost for the first jury in Bristol was £57,047 including VAT. The total costs for the four deliberative debates in London, Leeds, Portsmouth and Birmingham was £467,704 including VAT.

Heartsease School Norwich

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent on consultation exercises carried out by  (a) Cambridge Education Associates and  (b) Norfolk county council on the Heartsease school closure.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect information on expenditure incurred by local authorities during the consultation or publication stages of proposals for changes to local school organisation, including school closures.
	The consultation conducted by Cambridge Education on behalf of the Department was not on the Heartsease School closure, but on the proposals for a new academy. The amount expended on this non statutory consultation was £43,363 plus VAT. This formed part of the overall budget for the feasibility study, details of which were provided in answer to the hon. Member's previous question, No.139086.

Nursery Schools

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 June 2007,  Official Report, columns 1-5WS, on schools, early years and 14-16 funding (2008-2011), for what reasons local authority assessments of the cost of delivering free early years entitlement in the private and voluntary sector will be carried out; what use will be made of the results of these assessments; and when he plans to publish the results.

Beverley Hughes: Local authority assessments on the cost of delivering the free early years entitlement will be carried out as part of a series of changes to how local authorities fund the free entitlement between now and 2011, We expect each local authority to analyse the cost of delivering the free entitlement in private, voluntary and independent settings, in the run up to agreeing local budgets for April 2008 onwards. Schools Forums will need to consider this information as part of their budget process. It is therefore for local authorities to decide if they wish to publish the information.

Roads: Safety

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on introducing road safety as a compulsory part of the national curriculum; and whether this issue is being reviewed;
	(2)  whether there are any plans to introduce road safety as a compulsory part of the national curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 October 2007
	The Department has in 2007 received no specific representations on introducing road safety as a compulsory part of the National Curriculum.
	The secondary school curriculum has been reviewed this year by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The revised curriculum to be phased in from September 2008, includes new programmes of study for Personal Social Health and Economic Education. There is scope to cover road safety through the key concept of risk where pupils are taught that the
	'ability to recognise, assess and manage risk is essential to physical safety'.
	The Department's "Safety Education: Guidance for schools" advises how schools can deliver safety education, which would include road safety education, within the framework for Personal, Social and Health Education. Beyond that it also highlights how other parts of the national curriculum can be used to develop children's ability to assess and control risks to themselves and others.
	In view of the curriculum review, we do not plan to review our position on making road safety a compulsory part of the national curriculum. We will continue to work with the Department for Transport and others on ways to support the effective delivery of safety education within the curriculum.

Runaway Children: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children ran away from their homes in each London borough in each of the last 10 years; and how many have subsequently returned home.

Kevin Brennan: Statistics on the numbers of all children who are reported as missing are not collected centrally. The Children's Society estimates that each year in the UK 100,000 children run away or are forced to leave home to escape problems.
	A new national indicator on young people who have run away from their homes or care overnight is included in the national indicators that will underpin the new performance framework for local authorities. This was published on 11 October 2007.
	We are considering a number of different options to gather data on children and young people who runaway in connection with the new indicator, working closely with the Home Office, the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies.
	The Home Office has been working with the Association of Chief Police Officers and Missing People (the former National Missing Persons Helpline) to establish joint working arrangements to improve the recording, sharing and exchange of information, to improve the way in which missing persons are dealt with, and to inform our understanding of the problem in order to develop strategies to address it. Part of this work includes establishment of a comprehensive national police database of missing and unidentified people reported either to the police or Missing People, which the National Policing Improvement Agency is taking forward.

Schools: Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was allocated to schools in 2006 in Shropshire Local Education Authority area.

Jim Knight: The Normanton area falls within the Wakefield Local authority and the information supplied is the level of funding which applies to all of Wakefield. At the start of the 2006-07 financial year, Wakefield local authority allocated £183 million (£182,947,594) of revenue funding to its maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools. This comprises of the Total Budget Share plus any School Standards Grant, School Development Grant, Other Standards Fund Allocation, Devolved School Meals Grant, Targeted School Meals Grant, Threshold and Performance Pay and Support for Schools in Financial Difficulty allocated to the school at the start of the 2006-07 financial year. This does not include any capital funding allocated to schools.

Schools: Transport

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families who is responsible for monitoring the implementation of school travel plans; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 October 2007
	Since 2003, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Transport (DfT) have worked together on the 'Travelling to School Initiative' (TTSI). The initiative has sought to increase the proportion of pupils travelling to school sustainably {walking, cycling, on the bus) by helping schools to develop School Travel Plans identifying what can be done in each school, for each pupil, to support sustainable travel.
	Once completed. School Travel Plans are quality assured against criteria approved by the TTSI Project Board. The board monitor the quality and implementation of School Travel Plans, utilising a network of Regional and School Travel Advisers. DCSF and DfT Jointly fund local authority based School Travel Advisers who help schools carry out surveys and prepare plans.

Custodial Treatment: Death

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many juveniles died in custody as a result of  (a) natural causes,  (b) self-harm,  (c) accidents and  (d) violence committed by a third party in each year since 1997.

David Hanson: Information in respect of deaths in prison custody of prisoners under the age of 18 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Juvenile deaths in custody (all male) 
			  Classification  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Other non- natural (inc. accidents) — 1 — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Homicide — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Natural causes — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Self-inflicted 1 3 2 3 3 2 — 1 2 — 
		
	
	Concerning 2007: To 17 October there here has been no deaths of prisoners aged under 18—please note that while the table shows no deaths resulting from accidents, one self-inflicted death from 2001 and one from 2002, both involving hanging, had inquest findings of accident (inquest findings from 2005 still awaited).

Prisons: Visits

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  if he will commission a report from the National Offender Management Service on the steps it is taking to provide an effective booking system for prison visits;
	(2)  if he will require the National Offender Management Service to set minimum standards for the prison visit bookings system; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what information the National Offender Management Service collects on the efficacy of the visit booking arrangements at individual prisons.

David Hanson: There are no plans to commission a report from the Prison Service, which holds policy responsibility for these matters on behalf of NOMS. The Prison Service is aware of the difficulties many visitors experience when trying to book visits. The procedures and resources for booking visits are at the discretion of governors and directors in each prison, although they are required to have an efficient system in place.
	The Prison Service has been pursuing improvements to visits booking and alternative options are currently being explored. In 2006, guidelines were sent to all establishments setting out practical ways of improving of visits booking, and an IT package has been made available to streamline the process. Prisons also have facilities to enable booking by e-mail to ease pressure on the telephone booking lines.
	In September 2007 the Prison Service published a revised policy about visits, which introduced a mandatory requirement for all governors and directors to ensure that any system for visits booking is efficient. In future this will be monitored through the relevant performance standard on visits.
	Information about the effectiveness of visits booking at each establishment is not collected centrally; although information about good practice at particular prisons has been disseminated as guidance to the whole estate.

Assaults on Police

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on  (a) police officers and  (b) police community support officers there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: The numbers of serious and other assaults on police officers and operational police staff are published each year in the HMIC annual report and have been given in the following table.
	These data are not available by individual rank and therefore have been provided for police officers and operational staff as combined figure.
	
		
			  Assualts( 1)  on police officers and operational police staff 1999-2000 to 2004-05( 2,3) 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Force  Fatal  Serious  Other  Fatal  Serious  Other  Fatal  Serious  Other 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 3 402 0 7 325 0 64 272 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 97 0 16 109 0 18 76 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 0 160 0 2 152 0 1 117 
			 Cheshire 0 3 236 0 7 218 0 5 214 
			 City of London 0 1 43 0 0 44 0 2 60 
			 Cleveland 0 0 13 0 0 342 0 44 214 
			 Cumbria 0 1 102 0 2 83 0 3 77 
			 Derbyshire 0 5 273 0 3 229 0 0 241 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 6 305 0 5 219 0 3 253 
			 Dorset 0 3 165 0 2 130 0 1 155 
			 Durham 0 3 218 0 0 291 0 3 301 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 4 85 0 4 108 0 7 115 
			 Essex 0 1 169 0 2 208 0 0 225 
			 Gloucestershire 0 5 138 0 1 175 0 2 121 
			 Greater Manchester(7) 1 36 904 1 31 943 0 19 855 
			 Gwent 0 5 200 0 8 183 0 0 340 
			 Hampshire 0 29 356 0 1 373 0 5 172 
			 Hertfordshire 0 2 158 0 2 157 0 0 169 
			 Humberside 0 0 265 0 2 242 0 12 176 
			 Kent 0 12 280 0 6 276 0 2 361 
			 Lancashire(5,6) 0 45 249 0 64 254 0 57 239 
			 Leicestershire 0 0 218 0 0 236 0 0 235 
			 Lincolnshire 0 1 127 0 4 114 0 3 164 
			 Merseyside 0 23 497 0 0 119 0 0 147 
			 Metropolitan police(8) 0 0 1,391 — — — — — 1,438 
			 Norfolk 0 0 294 0 0 354 0 8 163 
			 Northamptonshire(4) 0 — 189 0 — 138 0 — 136 
			 Northumbria 0 20 493 0 29 501 0 37 501 
			 North Wales 0 0 104 0 0 106 0 0 111 
			 North Yorkshire 0 7 97 0 7 111 0 2 109 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 6 416 0 1 315 0 3 171 
			 South Wales(9) — — 317 0 11 394 0 0 893 
			 South Yorkshire 0 8 190 0 7 205 0 10 199 
			 Staffordshire 0 4 425 0 1 206 0 5 174 
			 Suffolk 0 0 129 0 1 126 0 4 166 
			 Surrey 0 2 138 0 8 225 0 18 157 
			 Sussex 0 5 397 0 9 388 0 7 277 
			 Thames Valley 0 1 141 0 0 288 0 5 315 
			 Warwickshire 0 3 139 0 1 150 0 4 152 
			 West Mercia 0 12 361 0 11 253 0 18 234 
			 West Midlands(5,6) 0 30 911 0 75 1,790 1 11 1,085 
			 West Yorkshire 0 9 656 0 6 693 0 6 1,015 
			 Wiltshire 0 4 104 0 13 133 0 11 101 
		
	
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  Force  Fatal  Serious  Other  Fatal  Serious  Other  Fatal  Serious  Other 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 0 366 0 3 490 0 0 296 
			 Bedfordshire 0 8 66 0 2 115 0 0 106 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 2 149 0 2 166 0 1 148 
			 Cheshire 0 4 348 0 13 378 0 2 337 
			 City of London 0 0 43 0 4 44 0 2 51 
			 Cleveland 0 0 59 0 0 67 0 0 63 
			 Cumbria 0 12 108 0 4 107 0 2 93 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 290 0 1 229 0 0 228 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 7 319 0 12 306 0 19 314 
			 Dorset 0 1 196 0 1 130 0 1 164 
			 Durham 0 1 240 0 2 219 0 3 133 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 2 132 0 4 100 0 4 137 
			 Essex 0 0 260 0 1 374 0 2 393 
			 Gloucestershire 0 1 148 0 3 144 0 0 170 
			 Greater Manchester(7) 1 25 909 — — — 0 16 1,006 
			 Gwent 0 3 178 0 2 207 0 2 176 
			 Hampshire 0 12 490 0 25 518 0 24 384 
			 Hertfordshire 0 1 193 0 2 169 0 0 185 
			 Humberside 0 21 240 0 14 182 0 3 127 
			 Kent 0 25 342 0 27 347 0 5 394 
			 Lancashire(5,6) 0 67 264 — — — — — — 
			 Leicestershire 2 8 202 0 11 191 0 14 291 
			 Lincolnshire 0 6 162 0 0 166 0 29 169 
			 Merseyside 0 0 10 0 0 182 0 0 165 
			 Metropolitan police(8) — — 1,898 — — 2,349 0 25 2,589 
			 Norfolk 0 6 220 0 16 166 0 9 199 
			 Northamptonshire(4) 0 — 149 0 7 102 0 0 98 
			 Northumbria 0 0 691 0 0 39 0 25 215 
			 North Wales 0 0 91 0 7 89 0 0 111 
			 North Yorkshire 0 7 118 0 8 232 0 0 279 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 0 391 0 19 90 0 10 224 
			 South Wales(9) 0 5 1,037 0 2 702 0 5 707 
			 South Yorkshire 0 3 161 0 5 187 0 2 161 
			 Staffordshire 0 2 144 0 0 119 0 0 158 
			 Suffolk 0 1 160 0 10 175 0 2 193 
			 Surrey 0 0 223 0 9 216 0 18 238 
			 Sussex 0 11 175 0 6 324 0 11 405 
			 Thames Valley 0 4 312 0 5 308 0 9 260 
			 Warwickshire 0 3 201 0 0 250 0 0 256 
			 West Mercia 0 10 235 0 17 210 0 7 199 
			 West Midlands(5,6) 0 2 12,62 — — — — — — 
			 West Yorkshire 0 2 779 0 9 847 0 7 882 
			 Wiltshire 0 1 136 0 0 165 0 3 121 
			 (1) Data collated on behalf of and published by HMIC. Serious assaults are those for which the charge would be under Sections 18 and 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Other assaults include those with minor or no injury. Recording practices may vary over time and between forces. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. (3) HMIC did not publish a force breakdown of assaults prior to 1999-20 HMIC have advised that assaults data will no longer be published in their annual report and that the data for 2004-5 is the last series of these data to be published. (4) Northamptonshire was not able to separate serious and other assaults from 1999-2000 to 2002-03. (5) Lancashire and West Midlands were not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 2003-04, however the number of overall assaults was 462 and 1,112 respectively. (6) Lancashire and West Midlands were not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 2004/05, however the number of overall assaults was 521 and 910 respectively. (7) Greater Manchester was not able to provide data in 2003-04. (8) Metropolitan police was unable to provide data in 2000-01 and was unable to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults from 2001-02 to 2003-04. (9) South Wales was not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 1999-2000.

Crime Prevention: Schools

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the effectiveness of the experiment initiated by East Renfrewshire Council in appointing of police officers to three secondary schools; whether there is evidence that the level of vandalism and other youth offences has dropped as a result; and she will consider the merits of introduction of further campus police officers in England and Wales in the light of her findings.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 17 October 2007
	 The scheme in East Renfrewshire appears similar to a scheme we operate in England and Wales called Safer Schools Partnerships (SSPs). Originally launched in areas targeted by the Street Crime Initiative in 2002, there are now over 400 SSPs in one form or another across the country. Guidance (from Home Office, DFES, YJB and ACPO) was issued in March 2006 which illustrates the different ways schools and police forces should consider SSPs as part of their response to a range of local challenges, including reducing youth offending and antisocial behaviour.
	Under the SSP scheme, a dedicated police officer is allocated to a school or a group of schools, often based on-site to work with pupils, school staff and the wider community to identify and work with young people who are at risk of poor behaviour, truancy, victimisation, offending or social exclusion. Having a dedicated officer develop a close relationship with a school has the dual benefit of helping to tackle pupil behaviour or attendance issues as well as building trust and positive relations between the police and young people. It encourages greater confidence in the police by making them more visible and accessible and provides young people with a valuable role model.
	SSPs have been shown to be a successful mechanism for ensuring structured joint working between schools and police. Evaluation by the YJB has shown they are proving effective in improving behaviour and attendance, with truancy falling significantly and pupils and staff feeling much safer. Furthermore, SSPs have been shown to help develop strong and positive relationships between the police and young people, and to help young people develop a sense of being part of the local community.
	My right hon. Friend the Home Office Minister for Policing (Mr. McNulty) and my noble Friend Lord Andrew Adonis, Under-Secretary of State for Schools have encouraged the adoption of the approach with a joint letter to chief constables in England and Wales in November 2006 requesting that they discuss Safer School Partnerships with their local education partners to encourage them to engage in this type of early intervention. Ministers wrote again to chief constables in England on 26 June 2007 asking them to consider a further push to develop Safer School Partnership support for schools in their communities which had been identified as ones which would most benefit.

Custodial Treatment: Driving Under Influence

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers convicted of driving when under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the East of England in each year since 1997 had previous convictions for the same offence, broken down by police authority.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the Court Proceedings Database maintained by the Ministry of Justice does not enable the identification of repeat drink or drug driving offenders

Departments: Accountancy

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what accounts directions were issued by her Department in financial years  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Liam Byrne: Under the Government Resource and Accounts Act 2000, HM Treasury issue accounts directions to departments, pension schemes and agencies and under the Government Trading Fund Act 1973 to trading funds.
	For the years 2005-06 and 2006-07 the Home Office has issued accounts directions for the form and content of resource and other accounts to the following sponsored bodies:
	 2005-06
	The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the Central Police Training and Development Authority (Centrex) and the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO).
	 2006-07
	Centrex, PITO, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). For 2006-07 IPCC relied on accounts directions issued for 2005-06.
	Directions for the Security Industry Authority were issued for 2003-04 and were still extant for 2005-06 and 2006-07. Those for the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service were issued for 2002-03 and were still extant for 2005-06.

Police: Finance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what total grant was allocated to each police authority in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much funding was allocated per head of population for each police authority in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities purely on the basis of population. The police funding formula uses a range of data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the relative needs of each authority. Grant allocations also take into account the relative tax base of each authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
	
		
			  Police authority total government grant allocations 
			  Police authority  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01 
			   Government grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population 
			   £m  M  £m  M  £m  M  £m  M 
			 Avon and Somerset 134.80 1.46 139.75 1.47 142.56 1.48 146.96 1.49 
			 Bedfordshire 50.14 0.55 51.90 0.55 51.97 0.56 54.24 0.56 
			 Cambridgeshire 57.23 0.70 60.66 0.70 62.87 0.70 66.89 0.71 
			 Cheshire 85.08 0.98 88.15 0.98 91.65 0.98 94.16 0.98 
			 Cleveland 67.59 0.55 72.66 0.55 73.65 0.55 76.30 0.55 
			 Cumbria 50.94 0.49 51.11 0.49 51.84 0.49 53.66 0.49 
			 Derbyshire 81. 06 0.95 83.35 0.96 87.29 0.96 94.24 0.96 
			 Devon and Cornwall 132.97 1.54 141.09 1.54 146.70 1.55 152.88 1.57 
			 Dorset 54.09 0.68 54.88 0.68 56.58 0.69 58.82 0.69 
			 Durham 65.06 0.60 69.68 0.60 72.46 0.59 74.77 0.59 
			 Dyfed-Powys 24.67 0.48 25.21 0.48 25.92 0.48 26.77 0.49 
			 Essex 129.70 1.58 131.53 1.59 132.75 1.60 142.51 1.61 
			 Gloucestershire 50.59 0.56 51.78 0.56 52.12 0.56 52.88 0.56 
			 Greater Manchester 315.27 2.52 328.12 2.52 337.39 2.52 351.70 2.52 
			 Gwent 31.82 0.55 33.27 0.55 34.85 0.55 35.83 0.55 
			 Hampshire 150.38 1.75 158.77 1.76 162.66 1.77 169.64 1.77 
			 Hertfordshire 76.02 1.01 77.23 1.02 82.42 1.02 92.89 1.03 
			 Humberside 93.43 0.88 97.83 0.88 99.71 0.87 103.06 0.87 
			 Kent 141.72 1.55 151.44 1.55 154.31 1.56 162.74 1.57 
			 Lancashire 146.86 1.41 153.65 1.41 155.94 1.41 163.35 1.41 
			 Leicestershire 83.88 0.92 85.27 0.92 87.84 0.92 90.60 0.92 
			 Lincolnshire 52.23 0.62 51.13 0.63 53.30 0.63 56.43 0.64 
			 Merseyside 207.64 1.39 213.25 1.39 215.31 1.38 220.65 1.37 
			 Metropolitan(3) 1,610.26 7.01 1.633.26 7.06 1,658.78 7.15 — 7.23 
			 Norfolk 65.65 0.77 68.10 0.78 69.95 0.79 74.20 0.79 
			 North Wales 34.96 0.65 36.27 0.66 37.95 0.66 39.16 0.66 
			 North Yorkshire 59.23 0.73 62.62 0.73 63.89 0.74 66.55 0.74 
			 Northamptonshire 50.77 0.61 53.28 0.62 55.14 0.62 57.14 0.63 
			 Northumbria 173.67 1.42 185.28 1.41 192.25 1.40 197.06 1.40 
			 Nottinghamshire 104.73 1.02 108.06 1.02 110.75 1.02 113.91 1.02 
			 South Wales 76.37 1.21 79.54 1.21 81.98 1.21 84.27 1.21 
			 South Yorkshire 141.47 1.28 147.75 1.27 152.90 1.27 159.24 1.27 
			 Staffordshire 96.15 1.05 95.09 1.05 96.27 1.05 100.13 1.05 
			 Suffolk 52.57 0.66 55.14 0.66 57.29 0.67 59.09 0.67 
			 Surrey 75.60 1.04 67.61 1.04 67.61 1.06 83.09 1.06 
			 Sussex 127.99 1.46 134.66 1.47 137.03 1.49 142.03 1.49 
			 Thames Valley 171.15 2.06 181.27 2.07 184.64 2.08 193.02 2.09 
			 Warwickshire 42.18 0.50 42.54 0.50 43.16 0.50 44.96 0.50 
			 West Mercia 87.74 1.13 90.86 1.14 92.92 1.14 98.36 1.15 
			 West Midlands 317.34 2.59 335.10 2.56 342.16 2.58 357.58 2.57 
			 West Yorkshire 238.20 2.07 249.54 2.07 255.01 2.07 268.61 2.07 
			 Wiltshire 52.08 0.59 52.87 0.60 53.84 0.60 57.20 0.61 
			 England and Wales Total 5,861.30 51.56 6,050.55 51.71 8,185.59 51.93 4,737.60 52.13 
		
	
	
		
			  Police authority  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			   Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government Grant( 1,2)  Resident population 
			   £m  M  £m  M  £m  M  £m  M 
			 Avon and Somerset 152.58 1.49 158.87 1.50 173.99 1.51 175.19 1.52 
			 Bedfordshire 59.89 0.57 61.51 0.57 66.83 0.57 69.22 0.58 
			 Cambridgeshire 71.27 0.71 76.80 0.72 77.96 0.73 79.66 0.74 
			 Cheshire 100.79 0.98 103.02 0.99 112.59 0.95 119.77 0.99 
			 Cleveland 80.96 0.55 84.06 0.55 90.97 0.55 94.79 0.55 
			 Cumbria 55.61 0.49 60.11 0.49 63.08 0.49 65.27 0.49 
			 Derbyshire 101.56 0.97 106.46 0.97 111.23 0.98 114.88 0.98 
			 Devon and Cornwall 163.44 1.58 167.49 1.59 174.26 1.60 180.29 1.62 
			 Dorset 62.45 0.69 65.46 0.70 71.17 0.70 75.46 0.70 
			 Durham 77.69 0.59 81.78 0.59 86.93 0.59 90.27 0.60 
			 Dyfed-Powys 28.00 0.49 28.17 0.49 30.12 0.50 32.23 0.50 
			 Essex 152.99 1.62 157.94 1.62 169.34 1.63 173.67 1.64 
			 Gloucestershire 55.55 0.56 58.78 0.57 61.48 0.57 63.66 0.57 
			 Greater Manchester 374.55 2.52 384.68 2.52 417.66 2.53 433.15 2.54 
			 Gwent 37.23 0.55 37.64 0.55 40.90 0.56 43.29 0.56 
			 Hampshire 178.39 1.78 185.16 1.79 197.87 1.80 208.08 1.80 
			 Hertfordshire 100.61 1.04 102.27 1.04 108.85 1.04 114.58 1.04 
			 Humberside 106.20 0.88 110.26 0.88 117.34 0.88 124.65 0.89 
			 Kent 178.10 1.58 179.96 1.59 188.38 1.60 198.30 1.61 
			 Lancashire 173.85 1.42 174.78 1.42 188.91 1.43 196.55 1.43 
			 Leicestershire 94.60 0.93 101.21 0.93 107.59 0.94 111.45 0.95 
			 Lincolnshire 60.34 0.65 60.97 0.66 64.98 0.67 68.22 0.67 
			 Merseyside 235.53 1.37 241.29 1.37 267.36 1.36 269.90 1.37 
			 Metropolitan(3) — 7.32 — 7.36 — 7.38 — 7.42 
			 Norfolk 81.58 0.80 86.60 0.80 90.79 0.81 94.37 0.82 
			 North Wales 41.36 0.66 41.11 0.67 44.71 0.67 47.08 0.67 
			 North Yorkshire 72.69 0.75 71.68 0.76 78.89 0.76 80.61 0.76 
			 Northamptonshire 59.46 0.63 62.21 0.64 69.79 0.64 70.71 0.65 
			 Northumbria 209.79 1.39 211.02 1.39 226.21 1.39 233.28 1.40 
			 Nottinghamshire 123.97 1.02 129.84 1.02 136.54 1.03 142.04 1.03 
			 South Wales 88.02 1.20 89.25 1.21 93.45 1.21 103.17 1.22 
			 South Yorkshire 167.09 1.27 168.77 1.27 184.86 1.27 191.87 1.28 
			 Staffordshire 105.23 1.05 106.36 1.05 112.87 1.05 117.62 1.05 
			 Suffolk 62.24 0.67 62.02 0.67 69.57 0.88 71.81 0.68 
			 Surrey 83.35 1.06 87.48 1.06 93.59 1.08 96.78 1.07 
			 Sussex 149.10 1.50 153.68 1.50 168.05 1.51 180.99 1.51 
			 Thames Valley 210.13 2.10 219.41 2.10 233.34 2.11 237.32 2.12 
			 Warwickshire 46.90 0.51 48.67 0.51 51.91 0.52 53.90 0.53 
			 West Mercia 108.63 1.16 109.21 1.17 114.12 1.17 117.77 1.18 
			 West Midlands 379.35 2.57 388.14 2.58 415.20 2.58 433.31 2.58 
			 West Yorkshire 287.07 2.08 288.26 2.09 310.30 2.10 329.12 2.11 
			 Wiltshire 60.89 0.61 60.78 0.62 64.68 0.62 65.85 0.63 
			 England and Wales Total 5,038.79 52.35 5,173.15 52.56 5,548.65 52.79 5,770.08 53.04 
		
	
	
		
			  Police authority  2005-06  2006-07( 4)  2007-08( 4) 
			   Government grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government grant( 1,2)  Resident population  Government grant( 1,2)  Resident population 
			   £m  M  £m  M  £m  M 
			 Avon and Somerset 183.81 1.53 185.92 1.54 184.21 1.55 
			 Bedfordshire 73.11 0.58 74.15 0.59 76.21 0.59 
			 Cambridgeshire 85.26 0.75 82.33 0.75 85.58 0.76 
			 Cheshire 124.28 0.99 130.88 1.00 136.13 1.00 
			 Cleveland 99.54 0.55 101.32 0.55 105.29 0.55 
			 Cumbria 68.71 0.50 72.43 0.49 72.29 0.49 
			 Derbyshire 119.38 0.98 117.32 0.99 119.81 0.99 
			 Devon and Cornwall 189.16 1.63 190.95 1.64 199.38 1.65 
			 Dorset 73.19 0.70 81.17 0.71 82.66 0.71 
			 Durham 95.28 0.60 94.36 0.59 97.68 0.59 
			 Dyfed-Powys 33.61 0.51 32.69 0.51 34.17 0.51 
			 Essex 181.81 1.65 180.43 1.65 187.91 1.66 
			 Gloucestershire 68.00 0.58 67.93 0.58 71.35 0.58 
			 Greater Manchester 462.73 2.55 479.73 2.54 484.16 2.55 
			 Gwent 44.44 0.56 44.27 0.56 45.70 0.56 
			 Hampshire 239.16 1.81 222.35 1.82 221.75 1.83 
			 Hertfordshire 117.84 1.05 121.12 1.06 127.33 1.06 
			 Humberside 132.49 0.89 135.00 0.89 134.90 0.89 
			 Kent 203.93 1.62 193.45 1.83 219.23 1.65 
			 Lancashire 205.41 1.44 207.98 1.44 215.90 1.44 
			 Leicestershire 118.17 0.95 124.81 0.95 126.03 0.96 
			 Lincolnshire 71.17 0.68 66.54 0.69 72.47 0.70 
			 Merseyside 279.85 1.37 276.08 1.36 287.30 1.36 
			 Metropolitan(3) — 7.51 — 7.51 — 7.56 
			 Norfolk 99.27 0.82 100.08 0.83 102.25 0.84 
			 North Wales 49.47 0.68 48.07 0.68 50.28 0.68 
			 North Yorkshire 83.73 0.77 86.24 0.77 79.39 0.77 
			 Northamptonshire 72.37 0.65 75.49 0.66 78.53 0.66 
			 Northumbria 250.55 1.41 249.17 1.39 260.01 1.39 
			 Nottinghamshire 148.94 1.04 143.48 1.04 145.55 1.04 
			 South Wales 107.45 1.22 91.93 1.23 94.82 1.23 
			 South Yorkshire 202.82 1.29 205.49 1.28 211.15 1.28 
			 Staffordshire 122.43 1.05 122.05 1.05 126.77 1.05 
			 Suffolk 74.76 0.69 73.73 0.69 75.57 0.70 
			 Surrey 100.80 1.08 104.76 1.08 110.12 1.08 
			 Sussex 180.95 1.52 156.10 1.53 189.14 1.54 
			 Thames Valley 249.35 2.14 260.52 2.14 261.98 2.15 
			 Warwickshire 56.16 0.53 54.57 0.53 56.91 0.53 
			 West Mercia 122.50 1.19 126.05 1.16 131.49 1.1 
			 West Midlands 466.12 2.59 471.41 2.59 487.88 2.59 
			 West Yorkshire 347.12 2.12 345.62 2.12 348.95 2.13 
			 Wiltshire 70.26 0.63 68.77 0.64 73.03 0.64 
			 England and Wales Total 6,075.37 53.38 6,066.75 53.45 6,271.23 53.68 
			 (1) Revenue funding includes all grants inside Aggregate External Finance (AEF) (i.e. revenue grants paid for councils' core services).  (2) Welsh Government Grant includes Home Office Police Grant, floor funding and additional support provided to ensure Welsh police authorities receive at least a minimum.  (3 )The data for Metropolitan Police Authority from 2000-02 onwards is not available as they are collected as consolidated data from GLA.  (4 )2006-07 Government grant figures are provisional outturn figures. 2007-08 figures are budget figures.  Source: DCLG—English police authorities/WAG—Welsh police authorities. Population figures sourced by DCLG from ONS (2006-07 and 2007-08 figures are projected).

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Julian Lewis: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his Answer of 15th October 2007,  Official Report, column 820W, on Iraq: peacekeeping operations, for what reason he has not identified any of the factors he took into account in deciding when to inform the Secretary of State for Defence of his decision to announce troop withdrawals from Iraq.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 820W.